Forever
by kunoichixakura
Summary: After Sasuke came back from Orochimaru, he found a note in his apartment. From her. It was always her. But, it wasn't what he expected. After 3 years, it still wasn't what he expected her to be. Black with red clouds. SasuSaku. New version!
1. Leaving, The Prologue

**Forever**

**SasuSaku**

**summary: After Sasuke came back from Orochimaru, he found a note in his apartment. From her. It was always her. But, it wasn't what he expected. After 3 years, it still wasn't what he expected her to be. Black with red clouds.**

**Forever, RE-DONE!**

**This chapter will relatively be the same, except for minor changes. I'm soo sorry for my neglecting of the old story, but this version will hopefully make up for it. The plot will be better and there will ACTUALLY be SasuSaku moments! GASP!**

**Oh, and all OOC characters WILL stay in the story, unless you message me and request that I leave your character out.**

**Anywhoo, please enjoy =]**

**Chapter 1**

_**Leaving (Prologue)**_

She turned around; emerald eyes glancing back at the beautiful village she once called home. She made a mental picture of it in her mind and stored in incase she felt homesick.

She smiled, and she walked towards his apartment, old apartment. No one lived there since some of his things were still there, plus nobody wished to live where "Konoha's Traitor" once lived. She took a single item out of her pocket, a piece of paper tied in a green string. Placing it in the mailbox, she walked away. She neared the exit of Konoha, again, and went through the plans in her mind. Leave. Explore. Avoid him. Everything she planned went over and over in her head like a short film.

"Everything..." She whispered to the crisp night air. She nodded to herself and her footsteps were the only noise in the air. Stomp. She turned around, looking at who would try to stop her.

"Your journey stops here," The person whispered, grabbing onto her arm. She shook the arm off her, looking into their eyes.

"Ino, I have no time for this." She mumbled, pulling out one of her kunai from the pouch.

"I don't care, Sakura! Our friendship has grown over the years he's been gone. Please don't tell me you're going out to find him, please!" Ino cried out, furiously trying to wipe away her tears.

"Ino, don't take it personally. I have my reasons, and he is _not_ included in them." Sakura spat, brushing stray pink strands from her eyes.

Ino opened her mouth to say something, but paused. She didn't know what she _could_ say. But once Ino blinked, Sakura was gone.

"Don't!" Ino sobbed, biting her lip. She was not about to lose her best friend when she could finally do something about it. _Nonono_.

Sakura silently appeared behind her, turning the kunai around and holding onto the blade.

"Ino…I have to do this." That's when Sakura jabbed the kunai's back into the sensitive part in Ino's neck, rendering her unconscious.

"Don't-" Ino whispered as she fell forward, falling into the dirt. Sakura looked around, noticing the bench. The same bench where he left her. So, she dragged Ino by her arm over to the bench. She took Ino's body and placed it on the wooden seat.

"I have to." She then poked Ino's forehead, like Ino used to do to her. She walked on, passed the guards, passed the gates, and into the forest. She put chakra into her feet and sprinted on through. She would stop at the next town, get food, sleep, and head out again. She thought she'd be alright, a 20-year old Anbu with high medic skills, surpassing Tsunade even. But yet, she believed a lot of things.

And most turned out to be wrong.

_Tbc_

Well, that's all for now. Did you like the original better? Review!

Also, I think I'll be deleting most of my stories. I'll keep this one and my SakuHidan one-shot as well as my authoress story. Also, if anyone has a story suggestion (be it your own or someone else's) please tell me and I'll promote it here!

_Your =) authoress..._

_kunoichixakura_


	2. Teme!

**Forever**

**SasuSaku**

**After Sasuke came back from Orochimaru, he found a note in his apartment. From her. It was always her. But, it wasn't what he expected. After 3 years, it still wasn't what he expected her to be. Black with red clouds.**

**Chapter two! And this is where it'll really start to change up. Hope it's enjoyable!**

**Chapter 2**

_**Teme!**_

Now this is when Uchiha Sasuke started to get angry. He felt like a prisoner…which wasn't exactly _false_. The Anbu with the fox mask – the _dobe_ – was talking too soft and too fast for the Uchiha to decipher his words, but he knew they were deciding what to do with him.

Not even an hour ago, the Uchiha sensed their chakra signatures and openly approached them. To the team's surprise, he offered to hand himself in and return to Konoha. He had fulfilled his purpose: he killed both Itachi and Orochimaru.

Sure, he expected hostility and such…but _not_ as far as binding him with chakra ropes around his wrists and ankles, binding them together behind his back. The ropes numbed his limbs so he couldn't perform jutsu no matter how hard he tried.

Naruto nodded for what seemed to be the twentieth time in ten seconds. "_Hai_, I _understand_ that he is an S-rank missing nin. I _understand_ why we've binded him like that. What I _don't_ understand is why we can't take him back to the village. Whether he's lying or not, Granny will be ecstatic to punish him." He argued to the man with a bird-like mask.

The man sighed. "Even if he _isn't_ lying, we can't risk him entering the village like this." White eyes flicked to all the faces in their small circle.

"I agree with Naruto, Neji. He's still cold, but he's genuine. Uchiha never seemed like one to lie to get his way." A lazy voice droned, his mask adorned with feline features.

Neji snorted before sighing. "Fine, but be sure to know that if Hokage-sama asks, it was _your_ idea, Uzumaki, Nara." He massaged his temples, before they all broke apart.

Naruto grinned behind his mask, throwing Sasuke over his shoulder, causing the man to grunt. "C'mon teme, we're taking you back home!"

* * *

Sakura sighed, running her fingers through her hair. She relished in the privacy the forest gave her. Two weeks have passed since she left Konoha and it's been…_annoying_.

She was stopped countless times on the streets begging her to help with some ailment or another. She really cursed the vibrant color that was her hair. She pulled her hood over her head to cover her tresses from any shinobi that happened to pass by. A soft 'thud' startled her from her thoughts as her hitai-ate fell from her small pack on her back.

Konoha's symbol gleamed back up at her, reflecting her dirty face. She scowled. She hastily put it back where it belonged – she could _not_ have regrets now.

Suddenly, she felt something cold on her nose. She tilted her head up to look at the sky, resulting in a rain drop falling onto her forehead and cascading down to her chin. She swore under her breath and picked up her pace as she knew of a small town nearby.

* * *

"Fuck, yeah," A tall, blonde swore, using the hotel's towels to stop the bleeding of a redhead. The redhead coughed up blood again, his body convulsing too much for him to steadily breathe.

"Danna, you _better_ not die on me," He pondered a second, "again, yeah." The body spat, the corners of his lips twitching up ever so slightly.

"And you were no help either times, Deidara," His body still convulsing for another minute before going still.

Deidara cursed before pacing wildly around the room. He jumped when the redhead choked again, trying to figure out what he could do.

* * *

Sakura gave a sigh of relief, wringing her hair out on the wooden floor. The inn-keeper looked up, aggravated.

"Damn shinobi," He grumbled, fiddling with a room key. "Need a room miss?" He asked loudly, enough to gain her attention. Sakura gave an apologetic smile.

"Hai, how much is one night?" She asked and he pointed to a blatantly obvious sign with the amount scribbled on it. She flushed and nodded, giving him the amount with no protest…even _if_ it was quite expensive for the ratty inn. He gave her the key and sent her away.

Sakura rolled her eyes at his rudeness. Off in her own little world, she bumped into a muscled chest. "Gomen…" She replied, before looking up.

The blonde growled. "You…" It seemed the blonde Akatsuki remembered her. She shuddered. She had killed his partner years ago, Sasori.

Deidara gave her a once-over, looked over his shoulder, and the back to her. With an aggravated sigh. "You're a medic right?" Surprised, she meekly nodded. _**'Hm, something's off about him…' **_Her inner self mused, rubbing an imaginary goatee.

Without saying anything else, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her into his room. She hesitantly let him – she was in _no_ shape to fight an Akatsuki member right now.

She gasped at the sight on the floor. The man she knew she killed lay on the floor, raggedly breathing. There was a gaping hole in his stomach, and she could tell that there were some broken bones by his position. "Heal him," Was Deidara's command.

She sharply turned around, looking at him incredulously. He must've been _desperate_ to ask _her_ for help, but even so, he was not going to get it immediately.

"And why should I?" Within seconds, he had her pressed to the wall. A gasp caught in her throat as she _knew_ she was done for.

"If you don't I'll kill you," He whispered in her ear, sending shivers down her spine. "Fine," She bit out, knowing that she had to co-operate. She silently got to work, doing the best she could to save him with the little chakra she had left. She had to stop the bleeding first and help everything start to heal again to get the body back on track. All the while, Deidara kept a close eye on Sasori over his shoulder. He didn't want to lose his partner, his best friend again.

_Tbc_

Yay for updating! I'd just like to announce that by the time chapter three is up, the sequel to From Inside The Writer's Office will be up as well! –Giggle– Yes, I made a sequel. Also, I'm working on two stories from the top two pairings on my poll: Sakura x Itachi, Sakura x Sasori. Sadly, the SakuIta is simply a one-shot, while SakuSaso is going to be a full-blown story. Why? Cause I don't know what to write for a full SakuIta story XD More information will be out when the story OR one-shot is posted, kay? =]

Akura out!


	3. Deal

Forever

**SasuSaku**

**After Sasuke came back from Orochimaru, he found a note in his apartment. From her. It was always her. But, it wasn't what he expected. After 3 years, it still wasn't what he expected her to be. Black with red clouds.**

**Yay, another update! =D**

**Note: Sorry I forgot Deidara's 'yeah's last chapter. Even though I know its narutard-ish of me to use 'yeah' instead of 'un', I just think 'yeah' sounds cooler XD**

**Chapter Three**

_**Deal**_

"So, Uchiha Sasuke…" Tsunade drawled, lazily flipping through the pages. Age was catching up on her, evident in her features. It seemed like news to Naruto, as he stared at her incredulously and in disbelief. Tsunade noticed him one too many times, but said nothing. She was too worn to fight.

"You're back. And why is that?" She lifted worn-out amber eyes. Naruto disregarded the serious manner of the situation and stepped forward to get a better look at Tsunade, who gave him a half-hearted glare.

"Granny, what's wrong?" He asked, causing his team to freeze and pay attention to their Hokage. Her desk was clean and clear, there were no sake bottles in sight, and no lingering smell of alcohol. Something was up.

She rubbed her temples, giving a weary sigh. "Many things, Naruto. Missing shinobi, potential declarations of war against us and our allies, and the up-coming stress of the chuunin exams. But none of that is to be discussed in front of a traitor." Her voice held no venom in the last line. Naruto caught that – he also noticed a _lack of_ response to what he had called her. But his eyes widened at what she said.

"Granny, _who left_?" Sasuke was forgotten as a tear slipped down Tsunade's cheek. The Anbu were tense, and Naruto was almost snarling.

"Anbu Captain, head of the medial department, one of the most trusted shinobi in this village…" She listed off sadly, reminiscing. Naruto caught on immediately, his face dropping. _Nonono_.

"Sakura-chan…" His voice was dull and his mouth hung slightly open in shock. Tsunade bit her lip and rested her face in her arms. Shikamaru and Neji exchanged bewildered expressions.

Sasuke, on the other hand, remained relatively emotionless. Haruno Sakura had let her innocence and naivety get the better of her, no big deal. There was no use whining over some annoying girl anyway. Once he broke from his reverie, he raised a brow at Shikamaru and Neji. As much as he remembered, the two never really held respect for Sakura. But their gloomy, scared expressions betrayed past feelings.

What had Sakura _done_ to earn their respect, and why were they _scared_?

* * *

"_Bitch_, you killed him _again_, yeah!" Deidara bit out, closing in on Sakura. Her fingers curled around her scalpel, which she had used in her attempt to save Sasori's life. Key word: attempt.

"I tried to _save_ him, ungrateful-" His hand roughly grabbed her neck, lifting her up against the wall. She squirmed around, trying to claw his fingers off.

"You listen, pinky, and you listen good, yeah," He looked at her menacingly, "you _will_ repay me for killing my partner a second time. Or Konoha will pay." Sakura tilted her head to the side, giving a tiny smirk.

"And why do you think I still care about Konoha?" _**'We had reasons to leave, Sakura-chan. Remember that. Don't let this fucker's questions bother you.' **__'They weren't even getting to me, baka!'_ She could almost roll her eyes at her Inner's reminder.

Deidara raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Is that so, yeah? So tell me this, kunoichi. What _rank_ were you in Konoha before you decided you didn't care anymore, yeah?" He smirked back, chuckling when Sakura winced as the tiny mouth on his hand bit into the skin of her neck, a tiny stream of blood falling from her neck.

"And why does that matter, _Akatsuki_?" She bit back, glaring at him for what his hand's mouth did.

"I'm just wondering how skilled you are, kunoichi, is it that wrong, yeah?"

"Fine, I'm Anbu Captain, jackass." She hissed when he raised an eyebrow. "What?"

He let a sly grin grace his features. "I think you'd be fit, yeah," It was her turn to raise an eyebrow.

"Fit for _what_?" She growled, hoping that it was not going to turn out like she thought it was. She knew men. They had _needs_, and angry men usually let their frustrations out without consent. She shuddered at the thought, bad memories resurfacing.

He leaned down, his lips right next to her ear. Her eyes went wide and her breath hitched in her throat. _Nonono._ "Since you killed my partner, you seem fit to replace him in Akatsuki, yeah." She froze. _'NANI?!' __**'Demo…he **_**has **_**a point…'**__ 'That's sooo not helping!'_

"And what if I say no?" She asked defiantly, causing him to give a spine-tingling laugh.

"Then I kill you. You've seen too much, and I couldn't have word spread around that I allowed Tsunade's apprentice to try to save Sasori's life, yeah." Sakura snorted at the 'allowed' comment.

She weighed the pros and cons in her head. With a heavy heart, and bit her lip and looked up at him.

"Sure, I'll join Akatsuki and be your partner." _**'Ne, good choice. We already betrayed Konoha, which means they might send squads out to capture, and possibly kill, us. Besides, no other country would want our loyalty. So what would we have been doing, other than being sitting ducks being nomadic and all? Nothing, that's what.' **__'We left Konoha with our own reasons, don't forget that.'_

_Tbc_

Eh, wasn't that great but, voila, here it is! Now, info for up-coming stuff!

**SakuIta**: One-shot songfic. Song: Broken Hearted by 18 Visions. Summary: Even though he confused her,he was still intriguing. She was hurting, but she couldn't let it bother her. After all, he was worth it.

Title: Broken Hearted

**SakuSaso**: Full fic. Current summary(as I go through a billion summaries before choosing the best): Ever since she supposedly killed him, he's been eager to capture her. She will soon be his puppet – the most exotic and beautiful puppet ever to exist. But all those thoughts escaped when he saw her true, inner beauty when they had to spend time together, without knowing who the other was.

Titles: Puppets **OR **Puppet Master.

**ALSO!** My sequel to 'From Inside The Writer's Office' has been posted. Go read?

Akura OUT!


	4. For What It's Worth

**Forever**

**SasuSaku**

**After Sasuke came back from Orochimaru, he found a note in his apartment. From her. It was always her. But, it wasn't what he expected. After 3 years, it still wasn't what he expected her to be. Black with red clouds.**

**Thank you SOOOO much for all the reviews! I DO read them, yes, and I WILL start replying soon when I'm not so damn busy X.X**

**Chapter Four**

**_For What It's Worth_**

"For what it's worth, Uchiha, I never trusted you. I doubt you'll be trusted by anyone other than Naruto for a very long time. Is that clear?" Sasuke grimly nodded. The Anbu had cleared out an hour ago, leaving Sasuke with the Hokage.

"I understand that you've killed both Itachi and Orochimaru, and that you would like to regain shinobi status in Konoha. Correct?" He nodded again, eyes narrowing a bit when his elder brother was mentioned. Tsunade didn't even spare him a glance, as her eyes were glazed over with worry and age.

"Here are the conditions. You will be put into jail for two weeks, starting tomorrow. Until then, you will stay with Naruto. After that, you will be put under strict Anbu guards for a year. The Anbu will then simply surveillance you until you have proven your worth. You will not be allowed to go on missions for another year after your surveillance has ended. You will stay a genin until surveillance has ended and then you are eligible to take the exams again. Do you agree to these terms?"

"Hn,"

"Good, now get out." Sasuke calmly left her office, only to see a loud blonde at his left.

"Hey, how'd it go teme?" Naruto asked, his arms crossed behind his head. His fox mask was on the side of his face and blue eyes stared at him.

"Ask her yourself, dobe," Naruto's face dropped a little.

"I can't – Granny is too much of a wreck right now." He said sadly, eyes downcast. Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Just because Sakura left the village?" Honestly, Sasuke didn't see what was wrong with that. He had left the village before, didn't he? And he was sure that Tsunade hadn't cared about him – he knew she felt the _opposite_ of what she seemed to be feeling for their current predicament.

Sasuke's dark eyes widened slightly when Naruto angrily turned to him. "Sakura-chan was one of the best shinobi in this entire damn village, teme. She sacrificed _everything_ for Konoha and- no, never mind. It's her business." Naruto sighed, running a hand through his golden locks.

"Hn,"

**~kxa~**

Deidara let a victorious smirk take over. "Good, yeah," Sakura stood frozen as Deidara stuck his hand in his weapons pouch. When his hand retreated, his hand was fisted and it took a moment before he opened his hand. Sakura squinted to see the object, especially since she didn't know what it was.

"It's a clay ring, yeah," Deidara tossed it to her, "it's only until you are issued your own. It's simply to ensure that the Akatsuki will not think you're an intruder." Sakura caught it in midair and examined it. While it was made of clay, it seemed to be an exact replica of a real Akatsuki ring, minus the coloring. She slid it on her ring finer, deducting that it would fit properly under her gloves.

"We leave an hour before dawn," was all Deidara uttered before slipping off his cloak and sliding into the provided bed. Sakura closed the door behind her as fast as she could, her mind buzzing. _**'So, we're Akatsuki now?' **_Her inner mind prodded. And Sakura promptly ignored herself, as she didn't want to dwell on it much. It was still news to her, even though she already had a makeshift ring.

Finding her room at the end of the corridor, she washed all of the grime and blood off of her person. As she was cleaning off some kunai, she noticed all the letters that were addressed to Tsunade-shishou. But they would never meet her eyes, Sakura knew. She looked into the mirror and she shuddered at the image. A nice bath and sleep would make it a more decent refection, she decided. _**'Wait, is Deidara just going to **_**leave **_**Sasori's body at the foot of his bed as he sleeps?' **_The pinkette froze at the thought before shaking her head and disregarding the comment.

'_**Hm, maybe he's a necrophiliac…'**_

**~kxa~**

Sasuke ran his fingers along the doorknob of his old apartment. Dust collecting at his fingertips, causing Naruto to cringe behind him.

"Teme, are you sure it's going to be safe enough to breathe in there? I can barely breathe out here." Sasuke gave his trademark 'hn' before slipping inside. Naruto huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. Cerulean eyes drifted to the mailbox, which didn't have much dust on it – only newer dust, if that made any sense. With a gleam in his eyes, Naruto opened up the mailbox only to find a single letter inside. He pouted, knowing that he wouldn't be able to make fun of the amount of fan girls the teme still had.

"Oi, teme, you have mail," He picked it up by the mint green string that surrounded the parchment. He scrutinized it, wondering who wanted to give his anti-social, angsty friend mail. Not waiting for Sasuke to acknowledge what he had yelled, he untied the string and his eyes widened at the script.

"TEME!" He cried, his hand shaking. Sasuke appeared in his doorway, leaning against the frame with a blank expression. Before he could attack Naruto with words, the shinobi let the piece of parchment fall from his fingers. Sasuke let his onyx eyes follow the paper on its way down, only moving for it when it was on the porch.

He scanned the letter with a lack of interest and then let it fall to the floor again. He turned on his heel and when Naruto made no move to follow the angsty boy, he looked at his 'friend' over his shoulder. "It's just a letter from Sakura."

_Tbc_

I utterly and honestly apologize for this not being out sooner. Especially after I promised to get my ass in gear for this story again DX

But I can say that I'm liking this version a lot more than the first one.

Also! I'm wondering, what fics of yours do you think is your best? Why? Because I'd like to showcase them =] You can simply tell me in a review! =D

(And this is when my Inner Self rolled her eyes, sarcastically saying that this is a non-obvious way to ask for reviews. But hey, at least I'm not holding chapters hostage, right? *innocent face*

Akura OUT!


	5. Shine

**Forever**

**SasuSaku**

**After Sasuke came back from Orochimaru, he found a note in his apartment. From her. It was always her. But, it wasn't what he expected. After 3 years, it still wasn't what he expected her to be. Black with red clouds.**

**It's exciting to see so many new reviewers. It inspires me =]**

**Chapter Five**

_**Shine**_

Sakura grimaced as she reached the border. She _knew_ there was a reason why she despised going into Rain Country, and the fact that Deidara – her new partner, she supposed she should get herself used to the idea – did nothing but grumble incoherently in between his 'yeah's.

As the name suggests, rain trickled down from the sky. The border wasn't getting the brunt of it, but she had a feeling that the farther they traveled into Rain, the heavier the droplets would pelt against her skin. She glanced to her right – Deidara seemed unaffected by the rain, but other than that, his expression was non-existent. Her brows furrowed. Yes, it wouldn't take much effort to convince her that an Akatsuki member wore a stony mask to hide emotions, but the fact that he _did_ irritated her.

"Where exactly are we going?" Deidara didn't even shoot a glance her way

"You'll see when we arrive, yeah." Sakura suppressed a groan. But she kept quiet after that, noticing that he didn't seem in a talkative mood. She pursed her lips for a moment.

If she was to become his partner – which was inevitable, as his partner was dead – and he turned out to clearly never be in a talkative mood, both she and Inner Sakura decided one thing: Haruno Sakura would _cry_.

Lost in her thoughts, her foot briefly touched a seemingly small puddle. Her foot sank deep into the mud and her body snapped forward and backward due to the velocity that she had been traveling. Her spine let a sickening crack ring loud in her ears and, from the mud, a fury of kunai and shuriken sprung toward the sky, cutting into her back, arms, torso, and neck. The mud around her foot was tightening its grip, as if someone with strength similar to hers was slowly crushing the limb. She coughed up blood as she fell on her side, her body craning in disgusting ways as if her bones were made of jell-o.

It took 5.1 seconds for this all to register in Deidara's mind. In truth, he hadn't been paying much attention to Sakura. Instead, he was pondering over what Pein would say about his failed mission. It had been crucial to his Leader's plans…

The blonde shinobi cursed, flinching at the sound made by her spine. He would have been lying if he said the thought of her falling into a trap wasn't funny, but the cruel, crunching sound drained all the hilarity out of the situation.

He tried to tug her out of the mud, but it was becoming denser by the second and he didn't have the strength to take it out and one of the few people who did possess the strength was the one trapped by it. A tongue from one of the mouths on his palms licked his fisted hand, bringing him back to reality and giving him a plan.

He stuck his hand into his weapons pouch, the mouth quickly going to work. With his moments of free time, he wondered why she hadn't screamed and, upon closer inspection, it seemed as if there was a poison on the weapons that had shot up, effectively giving her temporary paralysis everywhere it had touched…which included her neck.

He uncurled his fingers, his visible eye attentively scanning the miniature spider for any visible imperfections that might hinder its purpose. He saw none in a fraction of a second and placed it on the mud that was starting to harden. The clay creature sinked into the softer spots in the mud, sliding as far away from Sakura's leg as possible while still able to do damage to the chakra-enhanced mud.

As Deidara jumped back onto a tree a few yards away, he saw Sakura's eyes watching his every move with uncertainty. He could only grasp a certain understanding: she saw that he had no real reason to keep her around and, if she fell for traps that easily, it was best just to get rid of her. But while he would never deny his criminality, he was still undoubtedly loyal when he felt a person deserved it

He pressed his hands together in his favorite sign, and "Katsu" slipped through his lips.

**~kxa~**

Naruto's arm sprung out and connected to Sasuke's face. His nose snapped to the side with a sickening sound and the boy-man felt his eyes turn red. Just as the menacing Sharingan eyes were opening, another fist flew his way. Naruto's other fist slammed into Sasuke's cheekbone, effectively crushing it with the force put behind it. He fell to the ground.

"_The fuck dobe_?" He swore, holding his face. Blows like this weren't new to him, but the fact that he couldn't fight back unless he wanted to die made it all the more painful to bear. Attacking his friend on the eve of his return to Konoha was _not_ a smart idea.

Naruto's body was encircled by a demonic chakra Sasuke recognized as Kyuubi's. While he seemed in control, Sasuke knew that one slip up could lead him into a boiling rage. As he was formulating a course of action in his mind, a certain silver-haired shinobi placed a comforting hand on Naruto's shoulder, hot white chakra seeming out of his hand and into Naruto. The blonde froze for a second before falling to the ground, unconscious.

"Aa, so you mentioned her." Sasuke narrowed his eyes, snapping his nose back into place. "Be glad that I was here. Naruto…let's just say Naruto is still touchy about the subject, so I'd suggest you'd keep your mouth shut." Kakashi gave Naruto a glance before whipping out his beloved orange book. Sasuke simply grunted, glaring at the unconscious dobe.

After looking at the pages for what seemed like a second, he closed the book and put it back in his pocket. "As much as I'd like to catch up with you, Sasuke, I have somewhere to be. Ja." The sarcasm on his words was heavy and he disappeared in a puff of smoke, as always.

**~kxa~**

Kakashi appeared in Tsunade's office, surrounded by other shinobi and ex-sensei, Asuma and Kurenai among them. With her office filled up, Tsunade lifted her head from her hands and looked at them all.

"Neji, if you will," Her voice was shaky and her aged face was somber, as was everyone else's in the room. With a nod, the Anbu member activated his Byakugan and scanned the room for any bugs or eavesdroppers, as well as the outside corridor. When everything was cleared, he deactivated his bloodline and looked back at the Hokage.

"Right," Tsunade let out a breath and held up a piece of paper for everyone to see. It was a document and at the bottom right-hand corner there was a signature that, while it wasn't legible, it was well-known by these particular shinobi. "Danzo has released his statement and report, and the only thing stopping it from becoming official is my seal." A few shinobi in the room held their breath, while some, specifically Neji and Tenten, became rigid and stone faced.

**~kxa~**

The explosion wasn't deafening, but it attracted some attention. The shinobi who had set the trap were making their way towards the trap site, but Deidara was already gone with Sakura on his back. He set up a small camp at the base of a large oak, covered by genjutsu. With the basic medical training he had, he stopped the blood loss and healed her minor flesh wounds. However, there was still the problem of her paralysis and her badly injured leg.

"Shit, I really didn't want it to come to this but…" Deidara trailed off, rapidly doing hand signs and then slamming his hand into the ground. After a minute or two, something green began to poke out of the ground until the trap-like head split open, revealing a man's head, which was half white and half black.

Before he could say anything, Deidara pointed to Sakura. "This girl is to be my new partner, but she's severely injured and was poisoned with some paralysis serum, yeah."

The man didn't say anything for a second. "Go north until you come across the rendezvous spot. A spy with extensive medical training will be there to assist." His deep voice eventually faded as he disappeared back into the ground. Deidara grunted, picking Sakura back up and went north, clay already in his hands in case the shinobi found them.

**~kxa~**

Tsunade didn't care to notice every expression made. All she knew is that, if the document was released to the public, she'd end up a dead woman after brutally murdering Danzo and the other elders on the streets of Konoha for all to see, since the Hokage isn't supposed to do that.

"What we had feared is coming to light." While only a few of the shinobi were looking around, wondering just what she was talking about, others were struck with fear and hatred. "Danzo is trying to convince Konoha that Haruno Sakura, who recently defected from the village, was _not_ under the control of Orochimaru during that particular mission." Tsunade closed her eyes, her voice becoming weaker. "Danzo means to tell Konoha that," She suppressed a hiccup that usually meant for an onslaught of tears.

**~kxa~**

Maito Gai slowly walked down the streets of Konoha, his usual attire replaced with one of pure black. His downcast eyes thoroughly examined the road he treaded on, analyzing every pebble and rock he laid eyes on. He soon slowed to a stop, lifting his head slightly to the right, letting the stone come into view. The memorial stone of shinobi killed during duty.

He directed his path towards the stone, clenching his fist whilst he did so. Only then was he reminded of what he had brought. He left the flowers under a freshly carved name, the orange and green petals cheerily reflecting onto the stone. Gai's face contorted into one of ultimate suffering as he fell onto the stone, his body shaking so harshly it was painful for the citizens that walked by to see.

For the freshly carved name read: Rock Lee.

_Tbc_

I cried writing that ending, but it had to be done.

Anyway, I'd like to spotlight MidnightWriting's story, _Stupid Geniuses_. It's a hilarious story starring the Akatsuki! I absolutely loved it =).

Akura OUT!


	6. Konoha

**Forever**

**SasuSaku**

**After Sasuke came back from Orochimaru, he found a note in his apartment. From her. It was always her. But, it wasn't what he expected. After 3 years, it still wasn't what he expected her to be. Black with red clouds.**

**La la la…**

**I do not own the Original Character appearing in here.**

**If you want your own character in here, please see the bottom and send it to me in a review or message. Those whose characters appeared in the original version will still be in here the way they were submitted. If something has changed (or you don't want me using him/her anymore) please tell me, thank you. =)**

**Chapter Six**

_**Konoha**_

"You know, teme, I'm not sorry." Naruto grunted, walking the anti-social out of the hospital. Ino, the nurse on duty, had simply laughed when the Uchiha was dragged in by Naruto. She had commented on how she expected Sasuke to be nearly dead if Naruto dragged him back to Konoha. Sasuke had said nothing, only pointed to his minor injuries in a blasé manor while Naruto had chatted the blonde's ear off with every detail of Sasuke's return. And now their paths were headed back to Sasuke's apartment and they hadn't paused once, even when they passed Ichiraku ramen.

"Hn," Naruto's hand gripped his opposite forearm, his short nails digging into his skin to prevent himself from decapitating the Uchiha next to him. The silence around them hung thick, suffocating Naruto while Sasuke didn't even sense it. Naruto's nails continued to dig into his skin, the pressure growing with the awkward – to him, at least – silence. For some reason, the bastard irked him more than he did before he defected from Konoha. Just when he was about to open his mouth, he saw Neji and Tenten walking side by side, talking in hushed voices with somber faces. While Sasuke thought he was going to run up to them, Naruto waited until they caught his gaze and nodded to them.

"Naruto," They acknowledged, their eyes warily glancing at the Uchiha and at the carefully trailing Anbu. Without showing they saw the masked shinobi, they turned their attention back to Naruto.

"We went to the meeting…" Tenten started, uneasily glancing to her teammate. He gave her an unnoticeable signal – one which only their team knew – and she curved her thumb. "And I'll tell you the details." She began walking backwards, turning around when she saw Naruto following her. Neji stayed behind, eyeing Sasuke.

"You're still alive." He said simply, arms crossed over his chest, eyes narrowed.

Sasuke scoffed. "Hn." Neji raised an eyebrow before glancing over to Tenten and Naruto, trying to decipher what she was saying. Tenten looked over to them, catching Neji's eyes. She quickly looked back at Naruto, shortening her explanation.

**~kxa~**

She ran as fast as she could. She was glad that she chose to bring her smaller pack, as she barely felt any weight that could potentially slow her down. Her breathing was even and quiet, raising the possibilities of her not being seen. She knew of the inner turmoil the country was going through and her arrival would seem…she couldn't put it into words.

After traveling for days, she crouched on a branch overlooking the village of Konoha. She was worn and tired, but nothing was shown on her face more than sadness. She knew her closest friend was no longer a kunoichi in the village…but she tried to overlook that fact. With a deep breath, she jumped from her perch and continued to travel the short path to the gates on foot.

When she reached the gates, her pace was even slower than it initially was. Her eyes were half-lidded and she looked ready to collapse. She hazily looked for the guards, to show her identification, and when she found them, they squinted their eyes at her.

"…Kohame?" One of them finally spoke. She tilted her head and gave as dazzling of a smile that she could, showing her identification as well as her scroll that allowed her into the village.

**~kxa~**

Naruto's eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. "_What_?" He hissed, even though he had clearly heard her. Tenten shushed him, slapping her hand over his mouth.

"_Yes_, Danzo refuses to believe what Sakura said. He's already convinced the council that it is impossible for Orochimaru to learn a justu that controls his victum – even for a few minutes. He's saying that Sakura killed Lee out of cold blood during that mission, _not_ under the influence of Orochimaru!" She repeated fiercer than the first time she had spoken it.

"And now he wants Baa-chan to sign the document so that it will be the official report of Konoha." His words came out as if he wasn't even thinking them, as if he was a mere puppet. Tenten nodded solemnly, her heart twisting and wrenching in pain. She unconsciously gripped Naruto's jacket in her anger, and he lightly gripped her wrist in a reassuring manner.

_Tbc_

I'm sorry that this chapter was blah and short.

But at least the Sakura mystery is explained, ne? :p

Anyway, if you want to submit an OC, please fill out this and send it via review or message, thanks!:

Name:

Age:

Village/Loyalty:

Gender:

Shinobi Rank:

Background:

Personality:

Appearance:

Shinobi they like:

Shinobi they dislike:

Etc:

Akura OUT!


	7. Old Friend

**Forever**

**SasuSaku**

**After Sasuke came back from Orochimaru, he found a note in his apartment. From her. It was always her. But, it wasn't what he expected. After 3 years, it still wasn't what he expected her to be. Black with red clouds.**

**Woo, thanks for all the OCs! That really made me happy =)**

**Kohame is owned by CrazyGreyWolfGirl.**

**Don't worry, ALL OCs will have their part in this story. The three originals will show up first for the simple fact that they were in the old version.**

**The new ones will show up fairly soon, since I still need to figure out how to mesh them together with the storyline since I never expected so many!**

**PS. Sorry for such a long wait! And for those who have read this before, maybe you'll notice an old OC of mine resurfacing XD**

**AND. I've finally found the picture that this story is based off of. I'll put the link in my profile soon.**

******ANDAND. Does anyone wanna BETA this story? Please send a review or PM, thank you!**  


**Chapter Seven**

_**Old Friend**_

It didn't feel right. The room felt too cold. The air was too stuffy, so much that she felt suffocated. Even when she opened her eyes, she couldn't see anything and she couldn't sense anything: not even the slightest trace of chakra.

"You're awake." The chilly voice wasn't one she recognized. Her hands clenched into fists. She wanted to panic, but she wouldn't allow herself to. She had been in worse situations before; the only difference now was that she didn't know what was going on. She opted to remain quiet and try to pinpoint where the voice had come from.

She didn't know why her captor remained silent, and she didn't hear any movement. Her body froze up the moment she heard the sound of a door opening, and her heart pounded in her chest.

"Oi, why the hell are the lights off, yeah?" Sakura could've cried the moment she heard Deidara's voice. The lights suddenly came on, and Sakura lifted up her hand to shield her eyes. "Aa, so she is alive, yeah." He set down whatever he was carrying and walked over to Sakura. When he stood near her, he beckoned for the other person to join them. A tall male, from his voice, covered head to toe in black walked over to her other side.

"Sakura-san, Deidara-san had already healed your minor injuries, so I could focus all my chakra on your legs. Your leg was broken and there was a large gash from Deidara-san's explosion, but they have been mended. However, you will have burn scars on your calf. Miniscule, but still there." Sakura nodded at her fellow medic, attempting to move her leg up to assess her leg for herself. Her leg didn't budge. When she tried to voice her concern, no sound left her mouth. Deidara snorted.

"Dumbass! You forgot to mention that she's still paralyzed, yeah." Deidara said matter-of-factly. The man merely sighed.

"I apologize, Sakura-san. The parts of your body that the poisoned weapons touched, i.e. your leg and neck, are still paralyzed. I have given you an antidote, but it will still take a while to come into effect."

"Are you done here, yeah?" Deidara seemed impatient for the man to leave. He nodded.

"I am. And I will show myself to the door. Good day, Deidara-san, Sakura-san." He bowed respectively, before heading to the door.

"Good riddance, Karatoka." Deidara snapped none-too-friendly as the man left. Deidara looked at Sakura once with tired eyes and walked off somewhere in the room. "If you need anything, bang against something. Your arms still work, yeah."

Sakura wished for nothing more than to hiss at him, but two things stopped her: her paralysis, of course, and the fact that he seemed…distressed. Certainly, it was caused by the man, but something else could be eating him.

She stopped her thoughts in their tracks. When did she care what his problem was? _**'Hmm, maybe the second you woke up? Because he took care of you? Or maybe because after you're official, you'll have to watch each other's backs?' **_She tried to drain out her inner's voice, because at the moment it was sickeningly right.

**~kxa~**

Kohame gripped the strap of her pack tighter, bright green eyes wandering the streets of Konoha. Konoha was always a second home to her, and her current village had to be her third home. She noticed how, even at noon, the streets were nearly bare.

"This is not the Konoha I remember," She mumbled to herself, trying to search for a familiar face. The only faces that she saw were those of civilians and, with a sigh, she kept walking towards the Hokage tower.

**~kxa~**

"I need to talk to Baa-chan about this." Naruto grumbled once he and Tenten walked back over to Neji and Sasuke. Neji simply looked at Naruto, nodded, and left with Tenten. Sasuke stood with his arms crossed against his chest, looking as if he didn't care. But he did.

"C'mon, teme," Naruto grabbed Sasuke's forearm and jerked him in the direction of the tower. Sasuke narrowed his eyes, but said nothing. He simply let the dobe drag him through the barren streets to see Tsunade.

"BAA-CHAN!" Naruto slammed the door to Tsunade's office open. The blonde stood up angrily.

"NARUTO! DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPT OF KNOCKING?" She hissed, before the girl in front of her hastily calmed her down. Naruto blinked.

"Kohame?" The brunette twirled around, the twin katana on her back clinking together. She gave him a wide smile before rushing over and hugging him.

"Naruto! Long time no see!" She chirped. When she pulled away, Naruto noticed that she looked both drained and old, even though she was his age. It reminded him of Tsunade. Before he could ask her anything, Tsunade cleared her throat.

"Since Naruto thought he'd pop in, I'll make my speech short Kohame. While you're training here, you follow the same rules as our own shinobi, as well as the rules for staying in a foreign country. You may not leave Konoha unless you are supervised by at least one jounin level shinobi. Are we clear?"

"Hai," Kohame nodded, before bowing to Tsunade and slipping past Naruto to the door. Sasuke merely raised an eyebrow at the girl, not only wondering how she knew the dobe but why she would be training in Konoha. She already was a shinobi, judging by her hitai-ate.

"Now, why the hell are you in my office?" Naruto smiled at Tsunade, as she seemed to sound more like herself. Naruto looked to his feet, remembering what he wanted to ask her.

"What are you going to do about Danzo?" Naruto knew what he should do, what Tsunade should do, but they were dealing with politics. And no matter how hard he wanted to crush Danzo's skull in at the moment, he just couldn't.

"What do you mean what am I going to do? It's already been done!" Tsunade rubbed her temples, looking at the two blankly. Naruto let out a sigh of relief.

"Danzo is going to be pretty pissed then, ne?" Naruto grinned.

Tsunade shook her head at Naruto, before lifting up the piece of paper with a bright red replica of Konoha's insignia on the bottom, over Danzo's signature.

"It's been approved, Naruto." Tsunade's voice was quiet, and the blonde's entire expression fell. Even though Sasuke had no clue as to what was going on, he could tell that whatever it was…it wasn't pleasant. Naruto felt himself begin to shake, his eyes going wide.

"Nani…" He slammed his fists onto Tsunade's desk, immediately breaking the thing, crushing it into pieces. Tsunade didn't have time to be mad at Naruto, as his arms were thrown around her neck and his head was resting on her shoulder, so Sasuke wouldn't be able to see the tears pricking at his eyes. "I just got one teammate back, and I lose the other one." Tsunade comfortingly raked her fingers through his hair, albeit a little scared. She didn't want him to get angry enough to form into the Kyuubi.

"And Sakura…she won't be coming back." Sasuke blinked at Naruto's words. He was trying to piece the clues of what he had only overheard together, trying to figure out just what the hell was going on. He furrowed his brow, everything flashing through his mind.

"Because now, she is a target of Konoha." Tsunade glared at Sasuke because Naruto dug his nails into her shoulder. But she couldn't help but be saddened herself that this was the fate of her pupil. To work so hard…only to become an enemy of her home.

Outside Tsunade's door, Kohame was leaning against the wall, able to hear everything that was going on. Tears slipped down her cheek from narrowed green eyes. Her fist clenched over her heart, nails slightly raking against her armor tank top as she did so.

As soon as she heard barely-there footsteps coming her way from another hallway, she began her tread to the apartment complex where she was staying. She'd talk to everyone tomorrow and finally figure out everything that was going on here, but now…now she needed to meditate. She could definitely hold her anger better than Naruto, but like the blonde, she was _very_ quick to anger when her friends were in danger. Her eyes flicked amber for a second before returning to their natural color.

She came here to get stronger, right? Protecting her best friend would definitely make her stronger, seeing as every uninformed Konoha shinobi – including the ANBU – will have the order to kill Sakura on the spot, if she was ever found. "Don't worry Sak, they won't lay a finger on you." As she was walking, she slowly disappeared into nothing more than a cloud of smoke.

_Tbc_

YES, FINALLY UPDATED! Again, I'm so sorry for it being late. I've been so swamped lately and, quite frankly, I forgot about this story :O Anyway, once the story will start picking up in the next few chapters. And for those that feel that I'm revealing too much in such a little time…don't worry, I have so much more planned, from what I wanted to do in the original and what this new plot is bringing. Plus with the OCs…yes, this story will be so much fun to write. =)

Akura OUT!


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